Goner
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: A look at how Bobby and Kitty may have become friends.


_A/N: I don't have a problem. I swear. I just love these two so much. I hope I didn't make Bobby come off as a total stalker, because I was going for teenage boy with crush on a pretty girl. Heh. Also, I tried not to butcher Rogue's accent, but I probably did._

**Goner**

He was watching her again. She sat across the room at a table full of girls. Bobby saw Jubes say something that made her laugh, her pretty face lit up. He smiled to himself, until his view of the new girl was blocked.

Rogue set her tray down in front of him, smirking. Bobby shot the older girl an annoyed look. "You know," Rogue began as she sat down across from Bobby, "You could just talk to her."

Iceman shook his head. "Don't you think if I could talk to her, I would?" Bobby looked over the brunette's shoulder at Kitty, who was still giggling with Jubilee. He couldn't help it; he smiled a sappy smile again.

The table's other occupant rolled her bright green eyes. "She's only human, Bobby," Rogue drawled. "And you look creepy when you do that. Kitty's starting to think you're weird."

Bobby nodded absently before realizing what Rogue had said. "How do you know what Kitty thinks? Did she actually talk about me? In the locker room, maybe?"

"You're a perv," Rogue chided him, "And she just asked what your deal is. She's been here a month and you've never talked to her but you stare at her constantly. Ah'd think you were weird, too."

He gave her that same annoyed look he always did whenever she was deliberately being less than helpful. "But _how_ do you know? When did you talk to Kitty?"

The older girl shrugged. "Ah don't know. The other night when we were getting ready for bed, Ah guess."

"Ready for bed?" Bobby echoed. Rogue narrowed her eyes, ready to scold him for being a creep again. He spoke hurriedly, "Kitty's your roommate?"

Rogue nodded slowly. Bobby made a noise of discontent. "And you didn't tell me this because…?" Iceman demanded.

She held up a gloved hand and counted her reasons on her fingers. "For one, Ah was hoping it would be temporary because me having a roommate is not the best idea, two, Ah don't have to report every mundane detail of my life to you, and three, you never asked."

The younger boy scowled. "You totally suck at the friendship thing," Bobby informed her. He picked at his lunch, not feeling hungry anymore. He wished he could just bring himself to talk to Kitty, even if it was only to get Rogue to stop smirking at him.

Bobby barely realized the bell had rung until Rogue waved her hand in front of his face. "Earth to Bobby. Are you coming?"

"Coming where?"

She shook her head. "You're pathetic. We have the Danger Room right now. Scott is in charge today, so unless you want us both to get chewed out, Ah'd suggest you get a move on."

Iceman trailed after Rogue, knowing she was right. He _was_ pathetic. _'Rogue's right. Kitty _is_ just a girl. A very _pretty_ girl…' _Bobby took a deep breath. Today he was going to talk to Kitty before she decided he was a total loser and never wanted to see him again.

As he rounded the corner, he spotted the object of his affections standing outside of the training room. From the corner of his eye, he could see Rogue smirking at him again. Why did his awkwardness amuse her so much?

Scott glanced at his watch when he saw Bobby arrive. Bobby had been right on time, but if Cyclops could have had his way, everyone would be fifteen minutes early at all times. As usual, Scott got right down to business. He cleared his throat loudly before regarding his clipboard.

"Today we're having a little competition. The last pair standing gets a week of no chores." The group of young mutants looked visibly more excited. "I've put you in pairs. When I call your name, go stand by your partner."

Bobby was vaguely aware of Scott's voice calling out his classmates' names. Predictably, when he heard Kitty's name, he snapped back to reality. "Kitty, you'll be working with Bobby."

The blond boy froze in place as Kitty made her way over to him. If Bobby hadn't known Scott had no sense of humor, he would have that that the older mutant was playing a joke on him.

Kitty was even prettier up close, Bobby decided. She looked a little less than thrilled to have him as a partner, but he could understand why she would feel that way.

"Hi," she said finally. "I'm kind of new. I don't think we've officially met. I'm Kitty."

Bobby found himself unable to speak yet again. Here was a perfect opportunity to talk to her, and he was blowing it. _'How hard is it to say hi?'_ he asked himself. Iceman opened his mouth, willing himself to say something, anything, but no sound came out.

"You're Bobby, right? Rogue mentioned the two of you are friends." He continued to be silent. "Do you prefer being called Iceman?" she asked.

He managed to shake his head before Scott called them all to attention. Bobby kind of wished he could be invisible. He had just made a total fool of himself…again. What _was_ it about her that made him so nervous?

He couldn't concentrate as he shuffled off to the locker room to change. Kitty had seemed even more annoyed as she'd gone to join her friends in the changing area. Couldn't she tell that he _wanted _to answer her questions? Bobby wondered if there was something wrong with him. He'd never been a shy person. It was like being around Kitty made his mind go blank.

When the young mutants had reassembled in front of the Danger Room, Cyclops went over the rules again before letting the class in. The teenagers readied themselves as Scott got comfortable in front of the control panel.

The room came alive at once. The ground began to shake as giant slabs of steel began to press together, nearly trapping several students. A few laser beams made careful aim before firing, causing a few kids to be hit and disqualified from the competition.

None of these things fazed Bobby. He was a Danger Room pro after nearly five years of attending the institute and had seen most of the tricks the programs had to offer. But he _was _pleased to discover that he and Kitty worked surprisingly well together. Because the training session was a contest, things were definitely starting to get heated among the class. Kitty was able to phase them through both the simulator's weapons and their classmates' attacks, and in turn Bobby shot shards of ice towards their opponents, effectively stopping all assaults.

"We make a good team," Kitty told him with a grin. "Just one pair left. Think we can handle it?"

He answered with a grin of his own, looking forward to a week of no chores. And then Bobby spotted one of the Danger Room's large cannon-like machines aiming itself at Kitty. These cannons could hold any one of a number of this, depending on the skill level the simulator was set on.

Without thinking, Iceman seized Shadowcat's wrist and hurtled her out of the way. She lost her balance, slamming into the floor with a painful sounding _thud_.

But Bobby didn't have time to worry about that. The cannon fired, releasing a net that trapped him instantaneously. With both Bobby and Kitty on the ground, Rogue and Jubilee were declared winners, and the session was over. Scott pressed a button on the control panel and the net that had captured Bobby vanished.

Iceman took off as soon as he was free. _'Good job,'_ he thought, 'Now_ she thinks you're a creep _and_ a spaz.'_

0o0o0o0

Bobby moped around for the rest of the afternoon. He couldn't concentrate on anything for longer than a few minutes before his mind replayed the disastrous training session. Why had he overreacted? He knew the Danger Room was just a simulation, and still he embarrassed himself. He hadn't even _apologized_.

Kitty was probably telling her friends how much she hated him right now. This thought made the blond boy far more miserable than it should have. That was it, then. He would never have the chance to get to know her, to be her friend. Some other guy would catch her eye, and then Rogue would never shut up about pathetic he was for never even talking to her.

No. He wasn't going to let that happen. He had to at least try. After all, he'd been an X-Man for five years and he did dangerous things all the time without even thinking about them. He was not going to let a girl affect him like this…no matter how pretty she was.

Bobby got off of his bed and ran out of his room, a plan forming in his mind.

Dinner was just about finished when he reached the dining room, and thankfully there was not a line for what he wanted. He filled a mug with hot chocolate and carefully carried it up to the room Rogue and Kitty shared. It briefly occurred to Bobby that he didn't even know if Kitty liked hot chocolate, but he hoped she would at least appreciate the gesture. He knocked on the door.

Rogue was the one to answer, and she didn't seem at all surprised to see him. "Kitty doesn't hate you…yet," she drawled quietly. He nodded, grateful for the update. This was good to know. "Hey, it's for you," Rogue called over her shoulder to the younger girl.

Kitty made her way to the door. Her blue eyes widened when she saw Bobby standing there but she didn't seem angry. She brushed past Rogue into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly indicating that his audience with her was not going to be long.

Bobby cleared his throat. "I, um…I brought you hot chocolate." He held the mug out to her, and she took it silently. "How's your shoulder?"

"It's OK. Just a little sore. I doubt it's even bruised." Kitty took a sip of her drink, waiting for him to speak again.

Iceman reminded himself that he had indeed just spoken to her, and it hadn't been hard. "I'm really sorry," he said finally. "About your shoulder, and about way overreacting during the training, and for acting like a creep. I'm really not that weird, I promise."

Kitty let out a chuckle. "I know. Rogue told me." She smiled.

"Oh yeah? What else did Rogue tell you?"

She thought for a moment. "She said you think I'm pretty, and that your middle name is Louis and you hate it."

He would be having a talk with his friend. So much for keeping secrets. But he still couldn't help but be glad Rogue had stuck up for him. Bobby gave the brunette a shy smile. "Well, I'm glad we got that taken care of. I'll see you around, I guess."

Kitty's hand found his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. "So do you?"

Bobby had the decency to look confused, though he had a good hunch as to what she meant. "Do I what?"

Satisfied she had his attention, Kitty released her hold on him. "Think I'm pretty."

"Well…yeah. It's why I didn't talk to you. I was trying to think of the right thing to say before I made an idiot of myself, which I probably did anyway." He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering if he looked as awkward as he felt.

The brunette smiled again, a pink tinge on her cheeks. "I think that's kind of sweet. And you're not an idiot. I think you're brave. I mean, I know it was just a net in a training session, but if it had been real…"

"I would have done the same thing if it had been real." He dared to look hopeful. "Since I kind of messed up training earlier, I want to make it up to you. I can probably get the Danger Room for a one on one session sometime next week. Would you be interested?"

Kitty nodded. "Sounds good. But first you have a lot of talking to make up for. You can start tomorrow at lunch."

Bobby wasn't sure he'd heard her correctly. "You want to have lunch with me?"

"I'm curious about you," Kitty admitted with shy smile of her own. "Meet me tomorrow around 12:30 or so, next to the water fountain?"

"I'll be there. See you." The blond mutant turned taking a few steps down the hall. Kitty saw him pump his fist in the air, followed by a loud "Yes!" She laughed softly to herself. "Goodnight," he called as an afterthought.

"Goodnight," she replied before phasing back into her room. Rogue glanced up at her.

Kitty had a bit of a stupid grin on her face, and Rogue knew Bobby probably looked ten times happier. "Ah take it that went well," she said finally, deciding she wanted the details Kitty would probably be willing to share.

"I'm glad I listened to you. He's not weird, just kind of shy and sweet."

Rogue resisted the urge to roll her bright green eyes. Shy was not the first adjective that came to mind when she thought of Bobby. "He's a goner."


End file.
